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☆ Investing in Space: A year to forget for space stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. For most anyone with money in the market, 2022 was a year to forget – and space stocks were no exception. Remember, these space SPAC names all came to market at about $10 a share. Morgan Stanley in a note to clients recently highlighted those deals as evidence that "space companies [are] on Santa's List," and I suspect M&A won't be slowing down in 2023. A programming note: Investing in Space will be taking the next week off for holiday travel.

☆ Oatly, Other Deflated IPO Stocks Haunt New-Issue Market
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Corrie Driebusch | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Hundreds of companies that went public when the market for initial public offerings was booming have suffered such sharp reversals that they now face a stark reality: Their shares may never recover. More than one in four of the nearly 600 companies that went public via a traditional IPO in 2020 or 2021—including oat-milk maker Oatly Group AB and online lender loanDepot Inc.—traded at less than $2 a share as of Friday’s market close, according to Dealogic data. Many companies that went public in the surge of mergers involving SPACs, or special-purpose acquisition companies, also are faring poorly.

☆ Donald Trump's superhero trading cards timed the market all wrong
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Jon Sarlin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Los Angeles CNN —Donald Trump’s entrance into the NFT world came at the worst possible moment. It bears noting, however, that despite the bad timing Trump’s NFT collection has shot to the top of NFT marketplace OpenSea’s ranking and has raked in more than $1.4 million since its launch. On the Trump Digital Trading Cards website, the Trump collection claims to be “sold out” and the floor price for a single card has risen to $177.99, according to analytics site CoinGecko. SPACs boomed in 2020 with celebrities and investors piling in, but rising interest rates and a troubled stock market has led to a dramatic fall in SPAC value. Trump’s entrance into the SPAC world came after the boom.

☆ Retail investors turn to ETFs as recession fears knock down meme stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Medha Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Dec 16 (Reuters) - Retail investors are doubling down on Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) as rising interest rates and volatile markets curb their appetite for risky assets such as meme stocks, SPACs and cryptocurrencies. On average, retail investors' portfolios are down about 39% in 2022 after recording gains of 18% in 2021, JPMorgan analysts Peng Cheng and Emma Wu said. The investment trend, however, is leaning more toward ETFs tracking broader markets and away from the meme stock frenzy of 2021 that saw retail investors banding together on social media forums to fuel eye-popping gains in GameStop (GME.N), AMC (AMC.N) and others. Retail investors' average daily trading volume in U.S. stocks has amounted to $13.8 billion so far in 2022, compared with $14.2 billion a year earlier, which was the peak of meme stock trading frenzy, according to the report. Meanwhile, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday voted to propose some of the biggest changes to American equity market structure in nearly two decades, aimed at boosting transparency and fairness while increasing competition for individual investors' stock orders.

☆ VCs slashed proptech investments by nearly 40% this year after steep losses and job cuts showed them the sector wasn't all it was cracked up to be
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Proptech investment is down 38% from 2021, according to a new report. The proptech industry is being hit by slowdowns in both real estate and technology. High interest rates are major inhibitors of both real estate investment and tech investment, which both rely on debt. It reflects waning confidence that proptech companies can continue to give their investors big dollar exits. In 2021, private investors could imagine the path to the public markets.

☆ IPO market freeze sparks 80% drop in Nasdaq listings
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 15 (Reuters) - Equity listings on the Nasdaq fell about 80% this year, as the appetite for new issues took a hit from extreme volatility in the stock market, sparked by the Federal Reserve's war on inflation. The U.S. central bank on Wednesday raised rates as expected, but rattled investors by saying rates would remain higher for longer. That has also weighed on technology IPOs, which generally form the bulk of U.S. listings. For the year, the technology-heavy Nasdaq index (.NDX) is down 28%, well below a 16.2% decline in the S&P 500 (.SPX) index and a 6.5% drop in blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average index (.DJI). read moreReuters GraphicsReporting by Mehnaz Yasmin and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, based in Washington, told Arqit Quantum that its action was ‘a fact-finding inquiry,’ the U.K. company said. British cybersecurity company Arqit Quantum Inc. is facing an investigation from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its merger with a special-purpose acquisition company last year, the company disclosed Wednesday. Arqit saw its market value rise from $1.4 billion to over $4.5 billion soon after it completed the SPAC merger—a form of public listing—in September 2021 as investors embraced the company and its projections of surging revenue and profits in the emerging sectors of digital security and advanced cryptography. Its shares have since fallen significantly amid a broad investor retreat from SPACs and young high-growth companies.

☆ 2023 is shaping up to be a big year for dealmaking in live sports. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Big deals for the big (and little) screen. Next year is shaping up to be a big one for media deals. Like many other industries, media quickly turned quiet on the dealmaking front this year as the economy soured. However, a stabilization of interest rates, along with money burning a hole in investors' pockets, could lead to a big 2023, insiders say. The landscape for media deals is fascinating when you consider the two opposing forces, as Lucia pointed out to me.

☆ Getaround stock crashes after carsharing company goes public in SPAC deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Barbara Collins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Carsharing company Getaround made its public market debut Friday through a merger with blank-check company InterPrivate II Acquisition Corp. The company saw its share value drop more than 65%, reflecting the chilly environment for both SPACs and ridesharing companies. SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies, raise capital through an IPO to acquire or merge with existing companies, aiming to eventually take the companies public in a two-year time frame. For SPACs that did go public, they haven't fared well: the CNBC SPAC Post Deal Index has fallen over 60% in the past year. Public ridesharing companies have been struggling as well.

☆ SPAC king Chamath Palihapitiya says the Fed crushed the bubble in blank-check firms, and swears he's not responsible for the poor performance of companies he took public
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Chamath Palihapitiya said he isn't responsible for the poor performance of so-called blank check companies. Instead, the venture capitalist blamed Fed policy for causing the market rout this year, according to his recent interview with the NYT. He used SPACs to bring 10 businesses public, including Virgin Galactic, Opendoor, and his own SPAC in 2017, Social Capital. That was a "perverted" and "distorted" marketplace created by the Fed, he said earlier this year, criticizing the low interest rates that allowed speculation and SPAC companies to take hold of investors. But the Fed has raised interest rates 375 basis points so far this year in a scramble to rein in inflation.

☆ Cramer's lightning round: I can't recommend Penn Entertainment right now
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

They're good guys, but I cant recommend the stock right now." Loading chart...Digital World Acquisition Corp : "It's one of the SPACs that's not making money. The SPACs that aren't making money are stocks I don't like." Loading chart...ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd : "I've been against the shipping services since they first started ships. Loading chart...CME Group Inc : "Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

☆ Fintech Circle terminates $9 bln deal with Bob Diamond-backed SPAC
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 5 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency operator Circle Internet Financial said on Monday it has decided to end a $9 billion deal with blank-check firm Concord Acquisition Corp (CND.N), nearly ten months after an earlier agreement was amended. Circle is the principal operator of stablecoin USDC and reported a net income of $43 million and nearly $400 million in cash in the third quarter. Earlier valued at $4.5 billion, Boston-based Circle had amended its agreement with Concord, which is backed by former Barclays (BARC.L) boss Bob Diamond, in February and doubled its valuation. Blank-check vehicle 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp II (VCXA.O) said in August it mutually ended its $1.25 billion merger deal with crypto mining and infrastructure company Prime Blockchain. loadingReporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nasdaq CEO hopeful IPOs will pick up in 2023, calls for more crypto regulation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nasdaq had 143 IPOs in the first nine months of 2022, versus 557 over the first three quarters of 2021. Friedman also said she anticipates Nasdaq's cryptocurrency custody business, Nasdaq Digital Assets, which it announced in September, to launch in the first half of 2023, pending regulatory approval. Nasdaq has also made a big push into anti-financial crimes software, with its $2.75 billion acquisition of Verafin, announced in December 2020. Friedman said she believes Nasdaq's fast-growing anti-financial crime unit could become a $1 billion-a-year business, three times its current revenue. To view the Reuters NEXT conference live on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, please click here.

☆ Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman says the S&P 500 won't hit a new high for a long time - and predicts a US recession and stubborn inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Leon Cooperman expects the S&P 500 to eke out mediocre returns for the rest of this decade. The billionaire investor predicts a US recession and stubbornly high inflation. Sign up for our newsletter to get the inside scoop on what traders are talking about — delivered daily to your inbox. "The 4,800 high this year will be the high for quite some time," he said about the benchmark stock index. Rising prices, declining growthA prolonged economic downturn and elevated inflation lie ahead for the US, Cooperman said.

☆ SPAC Sponsors Used to Win at Investors’ Expense. Now Both Are Losing.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Jon Sindreu | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Buying stock in a firm going public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company is usually a terrible idea. But, in a damning development, SPACs may not be great for those launching them either. So far in 2022, there have been 48 SPAC liquidations, and another 40 are planned for before the end of the year, fresh data by SPAC Research shows. Buyout stars such as Alec Gores and Chamath Palihapitiya have recently said they would return billions to investors. Until recently, liquidations were rare.

NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The volatility and market uncertainty have hit the initial offerings market hard, driving down proceeds by 93% this year, Lynn Martin, president of the New York Stock Exchange said on Wednesday. "There is a lot of uncertainty and there's a lot of different forces that are impacting markets," said Martin during an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference. Martin said companies "very much want to go public," but they are just all waiting for the volatility in the market to calm down. She also spoke about the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, pointing out FTX lacked a central counterparty for clearing its trades, which is why their bankruptcy is "a bit murky." "The FTX situation may have added a layer of complexity to to the crypto markets in general," Martin said.

☆ Tech's reality check: How the industry lost $7.4 trillion in one year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Not one of the 15 most valuable U.S. tech companies has generated positive returns in 2021. In total, investors have lost roughly $7.4 trillion, based on the 12-month drop in the Nasdaq. In the war for talent and the free flow of capital, tech pay reached new heights. Loading chart...SPACs allowed companies that didn't quite have the profile to satisfy traditional IPO investors to backdoor their way onto the public market. A slowing IPO market informs how earlier-stage investors behave, said David Golden, managing partner at Revolution Ventures in San Francisco.

☆ Bank of America sees stocks going nowhere next year and tech continuing to take hits
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The S & P 500 will likely end 2023 little changed from where it currently stands despite the concern of a recession, according to Bank of America. The market typically bottoms six months before the end of a recession, Subramanian noted. To be sure, a variety of factors could influence the S & P 500's performance. The bank's more pessimistic outlook has the S & P 500 ending 2023 at 3,000 points – a 24% drop from where it closed on Monday. Within the S & P 500, information technology is down nearly 25% this year.

☆ 'Big Short' Michael Burry on his current positioning: 'You have no idea how short I am'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"The Big Short" investor Michael Burry, known for calling the subprime mortgage crisis, hinted that he currently has a sizable short position after being bearish throughout 2022. "You have no idea how short I am," Burry said in a Tuesday evening tweet. It's unclear what kind of bet Burry is making, if he's shorting any specific sectors or stocks or just the whole market. A new regulatory filing showed at the end of the third quarter, Burry held relatively small positions in just six names. Short positions are not disclosed in quarterly reports.

☆ How private-equity firms, rich with investors' cash, plan to capitalize on a souring economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Casey Sullivan | Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The ultimate winners from the economic downturn may turn out to be private-equity firms. At the same time, private-equity firms are seeing fewer exits and fundraising is slowing. That's the private-equity industry, according to interviews with corporate advisors and a review of earnings transcripts. Regardless of the challenges, however, one positive note for the largest private-equity firms is that they are more diversified today. These relationships are better insulating private-equity firms from economic cycles, she added.

☆ Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway reveals it built a $4 billion stake in Taiwan Semiconductor - and added Jefferies to its stock portfolio
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a new, $4 billion stake in Taiwan Semiconductor. Berkshire boosted its Chevron and Oxy bets, and slashed its wagers on US Bancorp and BNY Mellon. The total value of Berkshire's US stock portfolio, which excludes overseas holdings such as BYD, declined slightly to $296 billion. The report revealed it spent a net $3.7 billion on stocks in the period, and foreshadowed its enlarged Chevron stake. It also roughly quadrupled it stake in Chevron in the first quarter, and now counts the oil major among the five most-valuable holdings in its stock portfolio.

☆ The 'next Warren Buffett' curse: Sam Bankman-Fried is the latest market icon to fall after being compared to the legendary investor
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Warren Buffett curse is alive and well following the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried and his crypto exchange FTX. Fortune magazine asked if Bankman-Fried was the next Warren Buffett in an August profile. Fortune put Bankman-Fried on the front page of its August issue, asking readers if he was in fact the next Warren Buffett? Several of Palihapitiya's SPAC companies soared in value amid the SPAC boom of 2020 and the early months of 2021. Palihapitiya was often compared to Buffett by market participants, and Brown called the investor "the new Buffett" on a podcast in January 2021.

☆ Taiwan’s virtual beauty brand struggles on Wall Street debut
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Hong Kong CNN Business —Taiwan’s latest entrant to Wall Street has had a rough ride since it went public a week ago. Perfect Corp. lends its technology to beauty and fashion brands. Perfect Corp. founder and CEO Alice Chang said she spoke to CNN Business while wearing the company's "digital makeup" on a conference call. The question was: “How can I link the virtual beauty with the real world beauty?” Chang recalled. Perfect Corp. is one of a handful of Taiwanese companies to list in the United States in recent years, according to Dealogic data.

☆ IPO market has unraveled this year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But there’s another beast, albeit a mythical one, that has been pretty much absent from the stock market all year: Unicorns. According to data from IPO research firm Renaissance Capital, that was the slowest October for the IPO market since 2011. Many hope to do so instead in 2023 if the broader market improves. With that in mind, other unicorns could go public in 2023 if the IPO window opens up again. Crypto king FTX, sports merchandise leader Fanatics, Fortnite owner Epic Games and mobile bank app Chime are among the top 2023 IPO candidates, according to Wall Street analysts.

☆ The fear of missing out can be a killer for investors. Here's how top-ranked financial advisors keep it at bay
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Michael H | Digitalvision | Getty ImagesThe fear of missing out, or FOMO, can be a powerful psychological force — and it may lead unwary investors to lose bundles of money, according to financial advisors. Financial advisor Josh Brown uses the term "animal spirits" to describe the concept of investors allowing their emotions to guide them. Problem is: Investors often only hear about the big winners, not the duds, advisors and experts said. Various hype-men and -women and social media communities helped nudge investors to buy in last year. watch nowHow advisors overcome investors' FOMOPlaying off that future regret is how top financial advisors try to dissuade investors from succumbing to FOMO.

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